Console and PC Games: A Newbie's Questions

[Redundant]

OK , so firstly, I would like to inform everybody that I've never owned a console and have only played a few PC Games. *gasp :eek:*

Secondly, I have seen the PC game BF2142; it looks good and I would like to know if my computer can run it.

My dad got me a notebook PC for Christmas (even though I asked for parts...go figure) and it is a Toshiba P105-S6114. It has a 1.6ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and 128mb Intel Integrated Graphics (yuck :(). If that one can't play any games then I may be able to use my mom's notebook PC which is a Sony SZ 180p/c. It has a 2.0ghz Core Duo, 2GB of RAM and a nVidia 128mb 7300 graphics card.How well will games play on either of these?

Also, the game Halo caught my eye and I was wondering how the PC version was. My friends and fellow peers say "ported games are crap." (but between us the majority of them are effin idiots.) So are they just dumb and biased or is this true?

Thanks for all the help!

[Durrthock]

The one with the 7300 should run It Im not shure though.

[luciusad2004]

On the matter of Halo for PC.

I own it and i will say that its the same game that is on the xbox. The campaign plays out EXACTLY the same. In fact its got some extra stuff as far as multiplayer features go.

for instance

The pc version features:

Online play (free online play at that)
a couple extra maps
a few new guns
and the ability to use the Banshee in multiplayer.

Halo for PC is a good game and i would definitly give it a thumbs up.

You might want to look up the system requirements though as im not sure if it will play on your laptops. I used to have a laptop with integrated graphics and halo wouldn't play at all.

[Dem Pyros]

First off, Halo for PC wasn't ported. It was actually made for both simultaneously.

Second off, the PC version of Halo is great. It has many more features, ONLINE PLAY (no, halo 1 doesn't have online play on the xbox) and it also has Halo:CE, with a vast modding community

Thirdly: Your laptop's graphics card won't be able to handle BF2142. Your CPU is decent, RAM is great, but your graphics card *might* make the game barely playable at 20fps with everything dead low.

[Reyer]

I just got a new PC and i have been downloading Game Demos like crazy


BF2142
Halo one
Half Life 2
Flight simulator X
World of Warcraft

thoes are the best ones to get. WoW is the biggest and might take a while to download

[Redundant]

First off, Halo for PC wasn't ported. It was actually made for both simultaneously.

Thirdly: Your laptop's graphics card won't be able to handle BF2142. Your CPU is decent, RAM is great, but your graphics card *might* make the game barely playable at 20fps with everything dead low.

Wow, I knew it was made by MS but thought it was for XBOX originally...
As for the graphics, I've seen BF(the WWII one) run on my school's cheap computers (Celerons and definitely has integrated graphics) so I'm a bit surprised. :think: (Yes, the settings were probably low...)


I just got a new PC and i have been downloading Game Demos like crazy


BF2142
Halo one
Half Life 2
Flight simulator X
World of Warcraft

thoseare the best ones to get. WoW is the biggest and might take a while to download

Why did you download the demo for Halo 1? I thought they were on the third version... Sadly, downloading demos is almost impossible as I'm on dial-up but sometimes I can leech wireless.

For Halo, since most people play it on the XBOX, would I benefit from getting a gamepad such as the "Logitech Rumblepad 2" and would an XBOX one work on a PC?

Oh, and what is HL2 about? Is it another war game?

[Doomfest]

Half-Life 2 (HL2) is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game that is the sequel to Half-Life. It was developed by the Valve Software Corporation and was released on November 16, 2004, following a protracted five-year development cycle[1] during which the game's source code was leaked to the Internet.[2] The game garnered near unanimous positive reviews and received critical acclaim,[3][4][5] winning over 35 Game of the Year awards for 2004.[6] Originally available only for Windows-based personal computers, the game has since been ported onto the Xbox console, and is also due to be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2007.[7]

Taking place in and around the fictional City 17 sometime in the near future, Half-Life 2 follows the scientist Gordon Freeman. Dr. Freeman is thrust into a dystopian environment in which the aftermath of the Black Mesa Incident has come to bear fully upon human society. Freeman is forced to fight against increasingly unfavorable odds in order to survive. In his struggle, he is joined by various allies, including fellow Black Mesa colleagues, oppressed citizens of City 17, and the Vortigaunts.

The game uses the Source game engine, which includes a heavily modified version of the Havok physics engine.[8] Half-Life 2 has been critically acclaimed for advances in computer animation, sound, narration, computer graphics, artificial intelligence (AI) and physics. When sales figures were last announced, over four million copies of Half-Life 2 had been sold.[9] Exact numbers for digital delivery service Steam and retail have not been revealed, but in general, the former accounts for 25% of Valve's business and is significantly more profitable per unit.[10][11] Overall, the Half-Life franchise, including Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, has seen over 15 million sales.[12]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2
WARNING: Don't read past the first paragraph on the Wiki. It has mean spoilers.

[Redundant]

Thanks Doomfest. +rep

-Redundant

EDIT: I'm answered my own question about the controllers from Wikipedia:


The wired version of the controller can also be used as PC gamepad because it uses a USB connection, directly connected to the controller; the wireless controller cannot because it uses a wireless signal. A wireless receiver set to be released in 2007 will plug into the PC, allowing wireless Xbox 360 accessories to be used on the PC.

[Doomfest]

Anytime ;)

[linoge]

here is something that might help : http://www.systemrequirementslab.com
but you have to go to that web page with the computer
u want to use hope it helps :smoker:

[klingelton]

that is possibly one of the best websites i've seen in a while!

[Redundant]

here is something that might help : http://www.systemrequirementslab.com
but you have to go to that web page with the computer
u want to use hope it helps :smoker:

That's cool, it says for Halo everything is fine but the video card failed... and for BF2142 I should have a faster processor and the video card also failed...

So I'm going to try that site on my mom's pc and I'll see what it says.

On another note, I'm considering an Xbox 360 later this year as they're rumored to go to a 65nm processor and possibly HDMI (which I won't use). That should fix the overheating problems most seem to have.

[klingelton]

you mean they're upgrading the base spec of the 360 to something a little more stable?

i was quite shocked when i played a mates 360 by the amount of times it crashed, quite shocking for a £300 console.

I built my pc a little while ago now, and it still hasn't crashed, and i play ALOT of heavy duty games for a long time. guess that's what you get for quality components though.

i ran that test on my pc at work, which apparently can run a few games i thought it wouldn't be able to. i butchered my old pc and replaced most the parts since the budget is tight this year and i need it for photoshopping!

[Redundant]

Here's one link:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/26/65nm-xbox-360-cpu-refresh-delayed-until-mid-2007/

I'll see if I can find more.

EDIT: Here's one with tons of responses: http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-second-xbox-360-revealed-codename-zephyr/

[Redundant]

Worked fine for me and I was using an intermittent wireless connection...

[simon275]

it also has Halo:CE, with a vast modding community



Ahh good times that doing halo moding. Loved it.

[klingelton]

Worked fine for me and I was using an intermittent wireless connection...

you mean you were using a normal wireless connection?!

[Redundant]

What do you mean by normal?

[DaveW]

I think that was a joke. :)

-Dave

[luciusad2004]

Ahh good times that doing halo moding. Loved it.

I had Halo CE for a while but ended up removing it as i slowly came to the realization that halo CE was dead... i could hardly ever find any servers and when i did they were always lagging and sometimes there would be lots of glitches. I did find some really cool maps though; would have been really nice if more people used it.

[Redundant]

I think that was a joke. :)

-Dave


Ah, I see. :redface: It's sometimes hard to tell if it's sarcastic on the internet with the whole "no sound" thing.

EDIT: Because Halo 3 continues a storyline, would it help much to know what happened in 1 & 2?

[Ronyx]

Yea you should read up on what happened before continuing with Halo 3. I'd recommend you to buy Halo 1 and 2 and get the hang of those first. Halo 3 is gonna expand on the controls of Halo 2 a bit more and continue the story line with better graphics so you should practice homing your skills on Halo 2.

[Redundant]

So if I read Halo 1 and buy Halo 2, I should be fine with Halo 3, right?

[Reyer]

you dont need to read crap. its all about the multi player.

[DaveW]

Uh-oh, it's going to happen again...(gets riot gear out)

The Halo Story vs. Multiplayer Battle all over again!

-Dave

[luciusad2004]

Uh-oh, it's going to happen again...(gets riot gear out)

The Halo Story vs. Multiplayer Battle all over again!

-Dave

... there was a battle?

But anyway, I would say that it might be nice to know the story if you are in to that. If you don't really care about knowing the background knowlege im sure it wouldn't be necessary. I played Halo one and i thought it was a pretty good story as far as game stories go. It even had a nice couple of plot twists.

Personally, because i like the story, i plan on buying halo2 before i play three. I just have to wait till i get the hard drive for my 360.

On the other hand, I find multiplayer more fun than single play. its all about whatever your in to.

[Slug Toy]

damn right its going to happen again.

i for one am not too impressed with halo multiplayer for the following reasons:

a) its the only game that actually has lag in it. ive played plenty of other games, and none are affected by lag as bad as halo.

b) the dickheads you have to deal with whether you win or lose. playing on halo is 50% playing, 50% verbal abuse. you just wouldnt talk to people like that in real life.

c) the type of action wears you out fast. halo is kind of frantic action with lots of flukes mixed in. any other games like gears of war, ghost recon, or rainbow six vegas, are about strategy.

d) the game types themselves. three plots? seriously what a gay game. plasma slayer on midship? piece of crap. the only ones i like are the ctf and assault games... i loved the swat stuff but they went and got rid of it.

e) halo is the only game where ive been modded and hacked three games in a row. its a regular occurrence... people just like to cheat. i DO get a laugh when when bridgers try to ruin your connection to lag you out of the game, and then get themselves and half their team lagged out. thats the only good part though.

so i like the single player part of it. if bungie figures out how to stop those damn hackers, make better game types, and fix the connection issues, i may change my mind for halo 3.

[luciusad2004]

damn right its going to happen again.

i for one am not too impressed with halo multiplayer for the following reasons:

a) its the only game that actually has lag in it. ive played plenty of other games, and none are affected by lag as bad as halo.

b) the dickheads you have to deal with whether you win or lose. playing on halo is 50% playing, 50% verbal abuse. you just wouldnt talk to people like that in real life.

c) the type of action wears you out fast. halo is kind of frantic action with lots of flukes mixed in. any other games like gears of war, ghost recon, or rainbow six vegas, are about strategy.

d) the game types themselves. three plots? seriously what a gay game. plasma slayer on midship? piece of crap. the only ones i like are the ctf and assault games... i loved the swat stuff but they went and got rid of it.

e) halo is the only game where ive been modded and hacked three games in a row. its a regular occurrence... people just like to cheat. i DO get a laugh when when bridgers try to ruin your connection to lag you out of the game, and then get themselves and half their team lagged out. thats the only good part though.

so i like the single player part of it. if bungie figures out how to stop those damn hackers, make better game types, and fix the connection issues, i may change my mind for halo 3.

Wow, I was gonna get xbox live but i didnt know that playing halo over live was that bad. I do agree that halo is a lot of luck. Ive played at lan parties its like... whoever gets lucky enough to spawn behind a bunch of ppl. Not to say that there is no skill involved.

[Slug Toy]

another thing is probably age too. at 19, im probably one of the older guys who plays. i really dont feel like listening to little kids smack talk you all game when in real life i could take their heads off for saying what they do. a lot of those people need a good... rearrangement. id be happy to do it for them too.

[luciusad2004]

I didnt realize that either. I thought the live community was more college aged kids. Im eighteen, nineteen in july, so i might not like that. I cant really stand listening to little kids. I know at a game party i had once, we had one younger teen boy, who had a headset and all i wanted was to rip the thing off of him.

[Redundant]

you dont need to read crap. its all about the multi player.

Chances are, I won't be using multi-player. I don't even have DSL yet. I do care about the story lines because then it's like controlling a movie and it's annoying if I don't know any background info on the characters.

I'm glad I put such a flexible title on this thread as I expected it to go off topic. :dead:

EDIT: Did anyone know there is supposed to be a Halo movie in 2008? 8)

EDIT 2: Funny; you guys are arguing about muiti-player on Halo and Halo 3's tag line is "Finish the Fight" :)

[Ronyx]

I had live... i hate little kids :| There's something disturbing and aggrivating about listening to an underage kid mouth you off.

But it's all worth it once you get that perfect game. That one game where the teams are pretty even (for once), there's good communication between your teammates so you get a better played out strategy, and for once there are no noobs mouthing you off. I think i've had that type of game... around 6 times throughout the whole of my Xbox Live subscription...

EDIT: forgot to talk about the storylines lolz, got sidetracked... Anyway yea i'd say you have a pretty good plan there. Read Halo 1, GET Halo 2 and Pre Order Halo 3 =]

[Slug Toy]

halo actually is pretty deep. i havent read into it much... all i know is the games. as far as i can tell though, it might as well be a science fiction series considering the story backing the game. heck, ive stumbled across fan submissions that were big enough to be books.

i really dont see how halo 3 is the last. ive heard rumors that it isnt either. theres just too much money to be made to warrant stopping after 3. what WOULD be cool is if they backtrack for the 4th and do the events at reach.

[luciusad2004]

halo actually is pretty deep. i havent read into it much... all i know is the games. as far as i can tell though, it might as well be a science fiction series considering the story backing the game. heck, ive stumbled across fan submissions that were big enough to be books.

i really dont see how halo 3 is the last. ive heard rumors that it isnt either. theres just too much money to be made to warrant stopping after 3. what WOULD be cool is if they backtrack for the 4th and do the events at reach.

I heard a looong time ago, that this might just be the end of this story-arc. I dont know is there was any truth to that statement, but it would make sence. As you said it would be pretty dumb to stop makeing them after game 3.

[Ronyx]

sure people would buy it, but then Halo would turn into somethin like Rocky....
i think they should end it at the top of their game. it's great, it's fun it's hit the top and i think they should pull out after they've released number 3.

[Redundant]

Ok, so it's settled: Halo is a kick ass game and has an extensive storyline.

When connecting an Xbox 360 to a TV, how readable is it on a standard tube TV? (4:3) Does it look good?

If I were to get an LCD that would work with it, are there any recommended ones? Does it look good on computer LCDs (16:10) or does it look better on standard HDTVs (16:9)? I was looking at the 20" and 24" Dell LCDs (16:10) and they look pretty nice.

[luciusad2004]

Halo 1 and Halo 2 are both for the orignal xbox so im sure they would look fine on a SDTV, but halo 3 im not sure about. I know when i was playing Project Gotham Racing 3 (wich supports 720p i think) on my SDTV some of the text was hard to read. I put it on my CRT monitor with a resolution of 1024x768 and it looked MUCH better. I have never had acces to a true HDTV so i couldnt comment on how that would look but i can only assume that it just gets better.

Im going to say that an LCD monitor will look noticeably better but not quite as good as a true HDTV. Also if you look to purchase an LCD monitor you might want to get one with a native resolution supported by the 360.

you can find a list of the supported resolutions here.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/703/703073p1.html

Edit: I also wanted to say that it might very well depend on what the intended resolution of the game is. (im not really sure how it all works, im just going off of the fact that the back of my PGR3 case said the game should be played in 720p.) Halo3 could very well be intended for something higher like 1080i.

[Ronyx]

If you really want to take advantage and push Halo 3 to it's limits you have to get a large HDTV. LCD's won't do the textures any justice, that's all i can say.

If you want to play Halo 1 and 2 then a SDTV is fine. Infact when i tried Halo 2 on Xbox 360 and a HDTV it looked bad, the edges weren't smooth, they were more cut up and twitchy. Plus everyone looked like fat midgets. So yea 4:3 is perfect for Halo 1 and 2 but 16:9 is the aspect ratio of choice for Halo 3.

[Redundant]

Are there any LCD monitors that have scaling chips in them so there are "black bars" on the top and bottom so a 16:9 image isn't stretched to a 16:10 screen?

Thanks luciusad2004 for the link though it doesn't have up to 1080p resolutions listed.

[luciusad2004]

Are there any LCD monitors that have scaling chips in them so there are "black bars" on the top and bottom so a 16:9 image isn't stretched to a 16:10 screen?

Thanks luciusad2004 for the link though it doesn't have up to 1080p resolutions listed.

Your welcome, sorry about the 1080p thing, I didn't really look that high because i cant afford anything that could display that high. Plus, i thought the 360 only went up to 1080i.

Edit: If you want i can check my 360 to see what all the supported resolutions are. I could have swore i saw something x 1080. Ill edit in a bit with the resolutions that my 360 allows me to access.


Edit2.0: Ok i went and checked on my 360. Not the most scientific experiment but this is what it did and didn't let me do.

My setup was my 360 connected to an old CRT monitor via the Microsoft VGA cable.

The listed resolutions were:

640 x 480
848 x 480
1024 x 768
1280 x 720
1280 x 768
1280 x 1024
1360 x 768
1920 x 1080

When i went through i could successfully select all of these resolutions with the exception of
1920 x 1080.

I think in order to access 1920 x 1080 you need the HD AV component cables, which backs up what i read on a couple of web sites before i purchased my VGA cables..

[Redundant]

Thanks for going above and beyond for my stupid questions!* ;)

Whats the difference between progressive and interlaced? (p & i)


I think in order to access 1920 x 1080 you need the HD AV component cables, which backs up what i read on a couple of web sites before i purchased my VGA cables..
That's not much of a problem because if I was to get a 24" LCD (which is the smallest size that can display 1080) they all have component inputs.

On a 1920 x 1200 LCD do you think it will stretch it to fit or leave bars on the top and bottom?

BTW, How'd the 360 look on the CRT? Did you try any widescreen resolutions?


*I would give +rep but I have to "spread it around" to give you any more. lol :p

[luciusad2004]

On a 1920 x 1200 LCD do you think it will stretch it to fit or leave bars on the top and bottom?

BTW, How'd the 360 look on the CRT? Did you try any widescreen resolutions?


*I would give +rep but I have to "spread it around" to give you any more. lol :p

Im not sure if it would stretch or not. I dont really know how LCD monitors work in that situation. Im sure someone around here could answer that question though.

The 360 looked pretty good on my CRT. The image seemed a lot crisper than it was on my SDTV. My resolution was 1024 x 768 so it was a bit higher than a standard TV. Im not really the best resource for info on image quality though because i have a hard time seeing the differences.

As far as wide screen on a monitor you will probably want to go with a wide screen monitor.

As far as 1080i vs 1080p its pretty simple. 1080i is Interlaced (hence the 'i') wich means that when the monitor displays the image it refreshes only half of the lines per pass, so it takes two passes to refresh an image.

1080p is progressive scan which means that it refreshes all of the lines in a single pass.

1080p gives a smoother clearer image.

I hope that is a good explenation, im sure someone else could explain it better. ill see if i have a link that i can post up.

Edit: this link may help. Its about hdtv resolutions
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5137915-1.html

[Redundant]

Im not sure if it would stretch or not. I dont really know how LCD monitors work in that situation. Im sure someone around here could answer that question though.

That's OK, I found what I was looking (http://hushedcasket.com/node/1419) for. :D


As far as wide screen on a monitor you will probably want to go with a wide screen monitor.

Of course, of course...

[luciusad2004]

Im glad you found what you were looking for : ).

[Redundant]

I just got a new PC and i have been downloading Game Demos like crazy:

Halo one


WOW, OMG! I just finished the Halo demo! (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1c2678b1-90a1-4ca7-af68-b83ae2dec1cf&DisplayLang=en) Actually, that's the first game I've Finished EVER! :D:banana::eek::redface:8):up::bunny:!!!

Sorry, went kinda' nuts there. :p I can't wait until they update the 360 with 65nm as I want to be the first person to get it!

On another note, now I know why it's called Halo; the planet/space station is in the shape of a ring, i'e. "Halo" :dead:


EDIT: By the way, I ran it on the Toshiba PC w/ integrated graphics at 1024x768 on a 1440x900 LCD. It lagged during fast motion but worked enough to play. Great theme song too.

[xRyokenx]

Congratulations, welcome to the "World of Video Gaming," I'm not sure where the exit is, but you most likely won't want to leave. Heck, I've been playing games since we first got C&C Red Alert when I was in Kindergarten or 1st Grade. It's all about having fun, there's your one and only "rule" for gaming. Well, you could add "Don't ruin it for others" too, but I don't think you need to worry about that one. :)

[Redundant]

Congratulations, welcome to the "World of Video Gaming," I'm not sure where the exit is, but you most likely won't want to leave. Heck, I've been playing games since we first got C&C Red Alert when I was in Kindergarten or 1st Grade. It's all about having fun, there's your one and only "rule" for gaming. Well, you could add "Don't ruin it for others" too, but I don't think you need to worry about that one. :)

Lucky; I played my first PC game when I was in 5th grade and before that I only had a B&W GameBoy.

I've heard about some people doing mods to games/consoles so they have an edge such as unlimited ammo. That's what you mean by ruining it for others, right?